The Flaming Swordmaster

When it all began, Akiro Fukushima wasn't outside and didn't see what happened. While he was busy, playing an online videogame, the one who would become his supporter came at him though the wall. 

He wasn't unlucky, he was picked by a Kitsune, a nine tailed fox, not just any, but a myobu - a high ranking one. 

As soon as he realized what was happening, he was prepared. He'd seen things like this hundreds of times in anime, and knew exactly what to do. He rushed, grabbing his wall-mounted katana and quickly checking his skills. 

[Mirage Lv 1]

[Can create a small scale illusion for 2 minutes]

The Kitsune was helpful, giving him some ideas about how to use it, like creating small animals for confusion, or trying to make himself look stronger, and even using it to alter his supporter's appearance. 

He stepped outside. The people, still caught up in the initial chaos, were using their newly found powers to kill one another. 

In Japan, things were much worse. Millions of deranged, psychopathic yokai considered this land home, and such were choosing people to offer their strange, unpredictable powers to, accompanied by their stranger, even less predictable advice. 

Moving into the crowd, Akiro drew his sword and cut them down. His years of kendo practice, that he'd never gotten a chance to use, had finally paid off.

People did begin to notice, as heads and limbs were cut off all around him. But it wasn't just Akiro that scared them, but his supporter too. 

Thanks to a certain anime's depiction of the nine tailed fox, people recognized and feared it, seeing it as a monster capable of easily destroying the entire world. While that was a slight exaggeration, the nine tailed fox was still incredibly strong, and they were right to be afraid. 

He survived easily. With his sword and his supporter, no one could beat him at first. As time passed by, he would only get stronger. Quickly gaining a new skill and becoming far more formidable. 

[Pyroportation Lv 1]

[When exposed to fire, can teleport anywhere within 5m]

Thanks to all the fire-wielding yokai, the entire country was in flames, allowing him to teleport anywhere, anytime. 

As more time passed, and people began to adapt to their new powers, Akiro did begin to encounter some stronger opponents. 

The first nuisance was a middle aged man, supported by a Hōsōshi - a four-eyed exorcist. Despite only wielding a baseball bat, the man proved quite powerful.

He must've had some sort of buffing skill, making him better at fighting yokai, as the force behind each swing was so great that even Akiro's Oji-Waza techniques could barely block them.

Using his skills, he managed to convince his opponent that each of their hits landed, before jumping into the fires around him. 

Between the illusions and the teleporting, no one truly knew where he was - if he was there at all. Occasionally, the man felt a blade strike, but, even then, he wasn't sure where from. 

Inevitably, he lost. 

Akiro continued, exterminating his enemies, obtaining a new skill on the way. 

[Pyrokinesis Lv 1]

[User can create and control fire]

With his own fire, things became a lot easier. He could move freely, and even set alight his blade, cauterizing his enemies' wounds, preventing any healing - with the bonus of burning them alive. 

Things began to get difficult again when he encountered someone backed by Hinezumi - the fire proof rat. 

Almost completely immune to fire, Akiro had to go back to his old kendo. The resulting fight was tough and drawn out, but Akiro still won. 

It was only after his encounter with Amaterasu that Akiro changed his mind about something. Encountering the sun God's vessel, he exchanged a few blows with her. While the fight was fairly even, it was interrupted by nearby yokai, cohering their vessels to intervene. 

There were just far too many. While Akiro might've been able to beat them, the wounds would hardly be worth it, so he decided to flee. 

He had wanted to stay in Japan, but realized that wouldn't be a good idea. He had no allies there, and there were far too many yokai for him to deal with there.

As a result, he decided to head west, leaving Japan in search of powerful allies.

He ventured across the country, leaving a trail of corpses wherever he went. The few who survived encounters with him came up with a title to describe him and the fear they held towards him - the flaming swordmaster. 

As his fame spread, the number of challengers increased. People who though they had strong supporters rushed to track him down and fight, only to be proven wrong. There was no such thing as a strong supporter around Akiro. 

He kept going, his repertoire of skills increasing as he did so. He gained shapeshifting, bewitching, blessing and even a possession skill. 

Thanks to these, he reached the coast, stealing a boat and sailing straight towards mainland Asia. 

First, he ran into Isonade's vessel. Isonade was a giant shark monster, with a tail covered in deadly barbs. Naturally, this vessel had inherited that barbed tail, and decided to use it to take on the famous flaming swordmaster. 

It thrashed out of the sea, piercing Akiro's speedboat, and nearly sending him down. 

In response, he was forced to activate his shapeshifting skill, transforming himself into a large kraken. His shapeshifting skill - bakeru - allowed him to transform into anything he liked, but only for 2 minutes. 

That was more than enough time. After all, who could contend with a massive, flame wielding squid. 

He continued, before encountering a truly formidable opponent. 

Yamato no orochi. The giant sea dragon, with eight heads and eight tails. 

His vessel rose from the sea, with eight massive dragon heads sprouting from his body. Each head launched itself at the ship, only to be severed by Akiro's blade. 

Unfortunately, he hadn't activated pyrokinesis yet, so the heads only regrew.

He activated Bakeru, once again becoming a kraken, more accustomed to aquatic combat. With illusions, his opponent saw a flaming sword in each tentacle, but only one sword was there. 

Orochi's vessel ducked, unnecessarily dodging dozens of false strikes. When one finally did land, he was far from prepared. 

A head was severed in an instant, before being cauterized, unable to heal. Within seconds, six of the dragon heads were gone, but the other two would still prove difficult to deal with. 

They thrashed around, knocking Akiro around and capsizing the boat. Akiro was forced to waste valuable time lifting the boat before retaliating. 

Waves of fire shot from Akiro's tentacles, pushing Orochi back until another two slashes could land. When they did, the man was helpless. 

He no longer had his supporter's giant heads to attack with, and was forced to flee. 

Akiro would've chased after him, had it not been for Bakero's time restriction. 

We met the flaming swordmaster as he reached India. He found us fighting against some minor Gods and immediately asked to join us. 

Ulric asked for his qualifications, to which he responded, holding up a bag filled with some of his victim's heads. 

Shocked, we let him join us, getting him to show us his skills first. 

[Akiro's skills (7)]

[Mirage Lv 5]

[User can create medium-sized illusions for 1 hour]

[Pyroportation Lv 5]

[When exposed to fire, can teleport up to 1km]

[Pyrokinesis Lv 3]

[Can create and control fire]

[Bakeru Lv 2]

[Can shapeshift into anything for 2 minutes]

[Blessing Lv 1]

[Target receives slightly better luck for 1 minute]

[Bakasu Lv 1]

[Charms any target]

[Kitsunesuki Lv 1]

[Can take over an unconscious target's body]

Seeing Akiro's skills, I was astounded. I didn't even ask what boon he wanted and gave him sleep inducement. Alongside Kitsunesuki, he'd be unstoppable. 

Little did we know that he wasn't alone.